Ritachan was supposed to serve as an alternative to the furry image boards in English without a Do Not Post list like Lulz.net. Due to German youth protection laws the board was hosted anonymously at AnonIB.

The board took its name from the foxRita, a character in the Danish anthropomorphic cartoon franchise Jungledyret Hugo. The name was chosen due to the popularity of this character among most furries on Krautchan, the largest German image board. The default name for posters was Hugo.